UAE gear up for historic feat

posted on 03/09/2003: 1728 views

The battlelines are drawn. Five other member countries of the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) now want to take over the mantle of being the best snooker nation in the region. The 11th GCC Snooker championship will be held in Doha from September 6-11, and the committee has decided to alter the format for the annual competition to that end. In addition to the team competition, the organisers have added an individual, doubles and junior contests in an evident attempt to bring more competitiveness and smother the UAE dominance.

Last year, the competition could not be held but the UAE had won each of the 10 tournaments in-a-row. All the top players are part of the squad including Mohammed Al Joker, Mohammed Shehab, Obaid Khalifa, Essa Al Hassaini, Marwan Al Hajji, Khalfan Buamim, Salim bin Dhiban and Abdul Aziz Al Rais. The youth challenge will be led by Ali Mohammed Bufaroosha. They have been in training for the past three weeks. (The Gulf News)